I love reading the reviews here. This was my very first Grateful Dead show and I was in the 8th grade. As a Christmas gift my parents let my brother take me and we had a great time. I had been bugging my parents to let me go to a Dead show for several years. They surprised me with this one. They said they weren't going to let me go because a few years prior my neighbor who was also my babysitter was shot and killed in the parking lot of a Grateful Dead show at this same location ( bless her heart she was such a sweet girl ). That was a very sad loss. But then they let me go after all. I guess my rating of the show is, as all ratings are, subjective. I didn't have any other shows to compare this one to. But looking back I can see this one rates pretty high compared to shows I would later attend. I would go on to experience my 18th show at this location on the very day of my 18th birthday on 12/12/1994. That show was one of the best also. I remember the ride home from this show was scary because my brother and his friend took acid and were still tripping. We had to drive over Devils Slide (section of highway between Pacifica and Montara) and I had never been so scared in a car ever. There certaintly were days and then days between.

I sang a little while and then flew on.

Yeah... Hamza el Din chanted Olin Arageed with Mickey that evening during drums. What a beautiful event to witness.

Why the asterisk* for drums? I see this all the time. Asterisk with no explanation!

Phil bombs in Jack and Jerry's heart felt vocals set the tone for the evening. Grate performance, especially for a post Brent show (somehow I don’t share in njpg’s affinity for Vince; sorry to hear of your troubles thou). It would be greatly appreciated if Mr. Miller or Mr. Sturtevant could upload the first set aud. recording separately so it could be downloaded as the other aud sources are only of the 2nd set. Peace

NJPJ's negative experience is a bummer to read about especially since I went to these but did not have a Ticket for the 31st. Scalping wasn't an option I was even considering since the price would have been outrageous (a traveling companion got one for $175) and we still had to drive to Boulder and then back to Rhode Island.
This was a fantastic show to attend and I agree with NJPJs statements up until that point and from there disagree wholeheartedly. The rest of the review is nonsense re: Vince's versatility, voice and all of 1991 being better than previous years. The band got their boost from Hornsby and when Bruce left the quality and consistency plunged.
There is no arguing taste but to say Vince added anything to this band Brent wasn't providing, to say Vince of all people, reinvigorated the band is absurd.
I didn't like the GA setup and found it grossly unfair where people would arrive and tape off whole sections of prime seats. I always wanted call them on that when it went too far (15+ seats to whole rows) but they took advantage of a largely nonconfrontational crowd and their selfishness,
The DVD is floating around out there and it is fun to see this set again as well as listen

My 17th show, and my first post-Mydland show, as well as my first "Comes A Time", and what a great show! By far, the best I had heard since one day less than a year before, on 12/28/89 (possibly my favorite ever). I remember the "Jack Straw" particularly, and how those first nine notes of the show communicated the message that the Dead were far better than undefeated.
Here's what I think now. This show, and just about every one I saw since, was way better than anything the band did in 1990 as far as I know, and contains a tightness and polish that I find sparse even as far back as my first show in June 1987. Maybe adding a new member forced the band to clean up a bit, and I definitely think that Welnick, though not "better" than Mydland at all, was a much more versatile musician and his slickness was an element that added a lot to the Dead's music. As much as I was crushed to hear of Mydland's passing, and as much as it must have been a personal loss to a lot of people, I have to acknowledge that musically, this particular reshaping of circumstances was good for the Dead, at least to my ear. "Miracle" never sounded this good before Welnick's raging and soaring backing vocal, and man, could that guy play jazz fusion or what?! He played in "Space" like he'd been with the Dead all his life.
Not the best show I had ever seen, but close, and worth the five stars for the "Jack Straw" and "Loose Lucy" alone. I'd LOVE to hear a soundboard of the first set, Charlie, if one exists.
This was the first show I went to alone, without my hometown posse. On a personal level, I had a lousy time at this Oakland run, apart from the concerts themselves. I got rolled and robbed by thugs in the back alleys, leaving me so broke and emotionally crushed that I couldn't function, let alone attend New Year's Eve. I think I might have even given away my third show ticket and gone home real early. Oakland is not a nice place, and though I attended more Dead shows there than anywhere else, and got to know the area around the Coliseum like the back of my hand over the years and have many fond memories of it despite its filth and darkness, this would be the first and last time I ever went there alone. There was a lot of talk at shows about kind rainbow brotherly love and how we're all family. When I really needed some of that, I found none of it in Oakland. Maybe I needed such an experience to help me grow up a little, because after that, I never took as much s--t from people as I had before. And in truth, I have to thank the Grateful Dead and their following for that as much as for anything else.

Scarlet>Fire>Estimated>Comes>Drumz, Jams >Miracle>Wheel>Throwing
Scarlet fire estimated comes drumz, jams miracle wheel throwing
This is the one. I have found it.
My lost Estimated. Then...
"Comes A Time" FULL BLAST !! Crying Jerry Guitar.
To me,one of the most gut-wrenchingly, stomp-up-and-down-on-your-aorta, healing pieces ever. Absolutely perfect Grateful Dead performance. Right down to the real nitty gritty.
With Hamza El Din. (there is left-right panning)
This is such a magnificent performance that, while listening,I forgot to turn the teevee on!
This should be a five star rating save for minor sound complexities. Overall, the sound is not a negating factor, but, nonetheless, had to give it a four.

This was a great show. I wish there was a sbd copy of the first set. I did the whole run in 1990. Comes A Time was not only a fantastic surprise, but the boys did a good job on it. Enjoy!

I was there!!First "Roses" for me.A nice dose and a fun night I recall.Suprise Comes a time followed by trancy drums with Hamza.Loose Lucy had everybody doin it.Typically nice Scarlet/Fire.Estimated had the room spinning around the stage which itself was rotating in sync so as not to disturb anybodys view of all the LIGHTS and KNOBS on Weirs rack.Telescopic vision during the flip-out song.Fun.I would love to see an improved copy of this show for the fond memories it invokes.